The Death of Dalziel: Dalziel and Pascoe, Book 22

Dalziel and Pascoe, Book 22

By: Reginald Hill

Narrated by: Shaun Dooley

BOOK TWENTY IN THE DALZIEL AND PASCOE SERIES

Caught in a huge Semtex explosion, it seems the only thing preventing Superintendent Andy Dalziel from death is his size – and sheer bloody-mindedness. An injured DCI Peter Pascoe is convinced there’s a conspiracy at work, despite the security services concluding the blast was in fact an accident. Who, then, are the mysterious Knights Templar with their gruesome acts of vengeance? And what of a hit-and-run on one of Pascoe’s colleagues? And, most importantly, will Dalziel ever wake up to hear the truth…?

“One of Britain’s most consistently excellent crime novelists.” THE TIMES.

Intriguing and captivating

Enjoyed the writing and turn of phrase. The down to earth characterisation was appreciated. The book was funny, tense, exciting all mixed together. Well worth a listen.

Great Entry in a Great Series

What I love about Reginald Hill's Dalziel books is that they flout the usual conventions of British police procedurals. Usually, it's the brilliant/world weary DCI and the young/bumbling/earnest partner. In this series, though, it's the partner, Pascoe, who's thoughtful and refined and the mentor, Dalziel, who's coarse, two-fisted and (seemingly) lazy.

But THE DEATH OF DALZIEL takes this series to a new level. Here, Pascoe gets to be center stage as his partner lays dying. But Dalziel stills looms large (both physically and spiritually). Though Dalziel remains comatose, we are invited into his inner world, and we find it's a much more complex place than we imagined.

As always, Shaun Dooley's narration is impeccable; this book is less active than others in the series, yet Dooley manages to keep the pace moving.

If you haven't had the Dalziel experience, this is a fine place to start.

Wonderful story, brilliant prose, and great narration

Hill’s writing is fantastic, and the characters are full of life. Narration is excellent. A b c d e f

Good Story, but a Tough Listen at Times

This is a great story and well written. All previous reviews are accurate in that there are a lot of good dimensions to this book and R Hill brings them together nicely.

However, I am surprised by all the stellar ratings from US listeners.

This book is FILLED with Brit slang and the narrator at times uses such a heavey gutteral accent that I had a tough time figuring out what he was saying - at times had no idea what a lot of the slang even meant.

Anyway, it's a good story and recommended, but if you think the strong brit accent and brit slang will bother you, be advised.

The story is 5-star, but overall between a 3 and 4 rating for me because of the slang and narration, so I rounded up.

interesting story, characters and great narration

interesting contemporary tale - fab dialogue - great characters and amazing narration!